


Alive

by orphan_account



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Face Reveal, M/M, Reuniting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jesse goes looking for the Reaper, hoping to get some answers.





	

Route 66 looked just as he remembered it to be. It was a place frozen in time, bleached signs and cracked paint a sanctum for those on the run. McCree trailed his fingers over a wall that may have been baby blue back in the day, flecks of dust and peeling paint sticking to his glove. His fingers dipped into a bullet hole and he sighed. It had all been a game once, getting out of hand fast.

With a soft grunt, Jesse withdrew his hand from the wall and pulled his shawl tighter around himself. The sun was going down and the nights were never merciful here in the desert. Wind howled between the abandoned buildings, leaving him with an uneasy feeling of being followed. _Full of ghosts_ , he was once told. Ain’t that the truth.

Jesse tried not to linger on the time he had spent there. A lot had happened on those streets, the bullet hole ridden walls reminding him of all the mistakes he had done. He rushed past them, looking for the inn he had remembered to be here somewhere. A bitter taste rose to his mouth when he passed a wall full of ‘Wanted’ posters, more than half of them offering a good bounty for his head. The familiar neon sign of the inn came into his sights and his step quickened, desperate to get to warmth.

He had expected the first floor of the inn to be trashed, considering the bloodshed that had taken place on these streets. There was a hole in the drywall that looked suspiciously like his younger silhouette. And well, that was a whole story on its own. A new start, a new life, a new person to love and lose. He wasn’t sure if his chuckle was meant to sound so bitter.

Kicking broken wood and empty shells out of his way, Jesse made his way to the door leading to a staircase. The doors had been torn open, splinters covering the floor before them. His first step on the old staircase was met with a loud creak, making him freeze out of momentary fear. He collected himself quickly and ran up, sending a silent prayer to any deity that he would make it to the second floor in one piece and mostly undetected. That floor had left mostly untouched by the fight, most of the damage done by the looters hoping to get the most out of the badly furnished rooms. Jesse didn’t even bother checking the rooms with broken doors, knowing that he won’t even find a bed in them.

The second to last room was still locked. He assumed that the looters hadn’t managed to open the lock, but the handle broke off the moment Jesse tried it. The years had taken their toll on everything that came from around these parts, it seemed. He was glad to find the room intact, even finding a color tv that the inn had so proudly advertised sitting on the dusty commode.

Jesse closed the door as well as he could behind himself, taking his true Peacekeeper off from his belt and laying it on the nightstand. He took a moment to catch his breath and wiped most of the sand off of himself. The room looked exactly like he had thought it would, the smell of must and mould heavy in the air, bone piercing wind chasing him through the broken window. The bleached pink wallpaper was barely holding up. Jesse didn’t even want to think about what was living in the bed and sofa, hoping that his stay wouldn’t turn out to be that long. The most reliable and least pest-infested piece of furniture seemed to be a simple wooden chair sitting next to the window. He tested it with the nose of his boot, glad to find out that he won’t fall through it just yet. With a soft sigh, Jesse sat down, ready to wait for his company.

Really, he could’ve been much more straightforward, barging into the abandoned town with guns blazing, yelling for the Reaper to come out and play. Some would’ve called his way cowardly, dancing his way around the issue. But let’s be honest, would they be fearless if they were in the same situation as Jesse was? It was only a stitch away from being a suicide mission, going after Talon’s most feared assassin, nothing but hope and the shadow of a love long passed keeping him from certain death. So, he was giving Reaper a chase, giving himself time to collect himself in the process.

The howling of a coyote nearby pulled Jesse from his thoughts. He sighed and stood up, starting to pace around the room. The loneliness was getting unsettling. He was sure that he had done enough noise for Reaper to know that he was there. The uncomfortable anticipation made him nervous, something he couldn’t afford to feel right now.

The low rumbling noise couldn’t have been the weather.

Jesse stopped dead in his tracks, eyes fixed on the window in front of him. The doorway filled with thick black smoke, forming into the shape of a man. It felt like the world around him had stopped, leaving only him and the Reaper unaffected.

“Gabriel.”

His voice seemed too loud in the surrounding silence, breaking the illusion of safety he had. _Game on._

“ _You._ ”

The Reaper’s voice was full of venom, leaving Jesse with an uneasy feeling.

“I wasn’t really expecting company but hey, we do have a king sized bed,” Jesse said,turning around to look at Reaper. He had half expected to come face to face with the barrel of a gun.

There was a fleeting moment of uncertainty as Reaper came to terms with the fact that Jesse wasn’t really scared of him. After years of being met with fear and hatred, anything else was unexpected. Impudent, even.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

Jesse leaned back against the windowsill, Reaper’s gun following his head. He crossed his arms, hoping that the soft tremble in his human hand had stayed unnoticed.

“Shooting an unarmed man ain’t honorable,” he said, nodding towards his revolver still laying on the bedside table. Reaper glanced at it, quickly returning to Jesse. He could’ve sworn that Reaper was sneering at him under the mask. “I ain’t here to hurt you. Don’t see any need to kill me.”

“You’re not scared,” Reaper noted. “Why?”

The statement made Jesse gain some confidence in what he was doing. He stood up straight again and took a step closer. Reaper put his gun straight against Jesse’s temple, reminding him of his place.

“You haven’t given me a reason to be yet.”

Jesse wasn’t sure if Reaper’s silence was a good omen.

“It’s still you behind that mask. I know it.”

The silence was getting suffocating. He could feel the seething rage hiding behind Reaper’s cold facade. Maybe I will die tonight, Jesse thought, shot in the head for believing in love.

“You know _nothing_ ,” Reaper finally hissed. Jesse could feel the gun being pressed harder against him, cool metal leaving marks on his skin. “I killed the man I once was. He’s dead. Gone. Forgotten.”

Jesse couldn’t help but laugh at Reaper’s statement, dancing on the knife’s edge with his attitude. “Well, if I had forgotten about you, Gabriel, I wouldn't be here.”

“What are you even looking for if you’re not here to kill me?”

“Answers, maybe,” Jesse shrugged, stepping away from the gun himself. “Truth is, I may have even missed you. Believe me or not, I did love you once. Dearly. And I want to know if I can have any of that back.”

“ _Love._ ” Reaper dragged the word out, letting out a mocking laugh after he finished. He finally lowered his gun. “You think I could be loved? Stupid kid.”

“And what makes it so impossible?” Jesse asked, crossing his arms.

He definitely hadn’t expected Reaper to take off his hood and start taking off his mask. It resembled peeling rather than simply lifting it off, small wisps of black smoke coming off the edges. There was a short moment when Reaper held the mask in front of his face before finally putting it down and revealing his face.

“ _This._ ”

Reaper’s skin had a strong gray undertone, accentuated by the scars covering most of his face. Jesse could recognize some of them, the others becoming a painful mystery. A part of his right cheek was missing, showing off his abnormally sharp teeth laying underneath. His eyes were mostly red. Jesse noticed small sectors of brown still remaining there. Years of looking into his eyes had taught him to recognize emotion. Reaper looked disgusted rather than furious. Smoke was coming off his skin in small amounts,momentarily covering his scars before disappearing again. His hair had grown a bit longer, wild black and gray strands hanging in front of his face.

_Holy shit_ , Jesse thought

“This is who I am,” Reaper spat. His voice didn’t lose the slight distortion after being unmasked, sending shivers down Jesse’s spine. “I deserve the loathing and hatred. This is who I was made to be.”

Without his mask, his feelings were clear as a day. Jesse couldn’t stand the pain of seeing Reaper like this, despising himself.

“No.” It came out quieter and more desperate than Jesse had anticipated. “This doesn’t change it at all.”

He uncrossed his arms and walked towards Reaper, close enough to show that he has failed with his intimidation.

“I don’t care what you look like now. I don’t care if you want them dead. I loved you, Gabriel. I still do.”

Another moment of quiet arose as they were looking at each other. It was obvious that Reaper still didn’t believe Jesse, staring at him as if he had started speaking in tongues.

“Don’t.”

Jesse finally closed the gap between them, taking his glove off and raising his flesh and bone hand at Reaper’s face level, waiting for his permission to go on. A soft nod was all he needed.

Reaper closed his eyes as Jesse laid his hand on his face. Jesse knew his skin would be cold, only warming up under his touch. He traced his fingers over the older scars, reminding himself of where he had got them. The one running over his cheek and mouth was always his favorite. He felt Reaper twitch when he touched his lips, icy breath dancing on his fingers. Jesse left his hand on his cheek, waiting for Reaper to open his eyes again.

“You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.”

With the touch of their lips, with the first lingering kiss, Gabriel Reyes was alive again.

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes are mine. Written for my dear friend sarlaccsinner.tumblr.com with only some canon knowledge lmao


End file.
